Release of CIA Contractor In Pakistan Who Killed 2 people prompts clashes

A CIA security contractor who fatally shot two Pakistani men in January was released Wednesday after relatives of the victims received “blood money” as compensation and agreed to pardon him, U.S. officials said.

Raymond Davis was released from a Pakistani jail in Lahore after nearly two months in detention and was flown to meet with U.S. officials in Kabul. Cameron Munter, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, accompanied Davis on the flight, a U.S. official said.

The U.S. official confirmed that so-called “blood money” had been paid to family members of the shooting victims. In Pakistan, there is a tradition of such payments in return for pardoning the perpetrator of a crime.

An official close to the negotiations said three Pakistani families each received between $700,000 and $1 million as part of the deal to free Davis. In addition to the two men killed by Davis, a third Pakistani died after being struck by a vehicle carrying CIA personnel attempting to retrieve Davis after the shooting.